Several municipalities are trying to come to the aid of the population, even though the cities themselves are also struggling with serious difficulties due to the energy crisis - it was revealed in our newspaper's poll. The support system is being reworked locally in such a way as to broaden the range of beneficiaries and thus reach more needy people. In addition, they are trying to help the local residents with useful information and advice, the Magyar Nemzet reported

In Debrecen, it was recently decided that the money in the city aid fund created during the coronavirus epidemic will be used to support those who are in a difficult situation due to the energy crisis.

The start of this aid fund was necessary because, although the municipality of Debrecen has a very significant social framework of several billion forints per year, there are situations that are difficult to understand within the legal framework and which can only be managed from separate sources. Almost HUF 140 million was received in the sub-account of the aid fund, and of this amount, the city has so far spent HUF 97.5 million on various subsidies. With this, they were able to help more than 4,600 people from Debrecen with financial support, providing lunch, hot food or other benefits in kind. But now,

with the end of the epidemic situation, the city agreed with the previous offerors that the remaining amount would be used purposefully to alleviate the difficulties caused by the energy crisis. Now, the target groups of the support are those families, individuals, and pensioners who are not entitled to the housing maintenance support regulated in the municipal decree, but are particularly adversely affected by the increase in energy prices.

If the conditions are met, they can receive support for a maximum of six months to cover the costs of electricity or natural gas consumption between October 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023.

For those living in a family, this is HUF 7,000 per month, and for those living alone, HUF 8,000 per month. For the purchase of firewood, the subsidy can reach up to thirty percent of the costs confirmed by the invoice, up to a maximum of thirty thousand forints, which the affected parties receive in a lump sum. The city management indicated that they are still waiting for donations to the aid fund from those who want and are able to help the needy.

The Győr municipality, on the initiative of mayor András Csaba Dézsi, wants to help local families to reduce their electricity bills.

The essence of the program is that

the old light bulbs are replaced with much more economical and more modern LED bulbs in terms of lighting technology, and that is completely free of charge for the public.

Registrants must indicate how many light bulbs are currently used in which room, and for how long per day. Based on an algorithm, the program determines how many LED bulbs can be saved in households. The local government provides specific help in requesting light bulbs, has created a special information page for Győr residents, where they can apply, and gives them a pre-packaged set of LED light bulbs individually.

With this, families in Győr that participate in the residential LED replacement program can save up to HUF 25,000-30,000 in electricity costs per year.

In Zalaegerszeg, Mayor Zoltán Balaicz will present the proposal to the general assembly on October 20, which will introduce several targeted social support programs to deal with the situation, with a transfer of fifty million forints in the first round. The 50 million HUF limit will be expanded by an additional 50 million HUF in the second round after the experiences of the requests have been collected, and it can be expanded even after that.

The HUF fifty+fifty million program consists of several elements, so, for example, in the case of the firewood subsidy, the range of beneficiaries would be significantly expanded, and the value limit would be increased.

The city administration of Zalaegerszeg acts in a similar way when it comes to social crisis fund support. With housing and energy support, they want to directly help citizens who are in a difficult situation due to the rise in energy prices.

The support would be aimed at those single people and families whose consumption rises above the subsidized utility costs due to the features of their apartment or house, but this is a heavy burden for them due to their income conditions.

In the county seat of Zala, the proposed support framework for natural gas is HUF 150 per cubic meter according to consumption, up to HUF 15,000 per month. The local government has started the development of an energy consultancy, with which they intend to help the population with energy consultancy free of charge.

Péter Szarvas, the mayor of Békéscsaba, informed that they are trying to support families, elderly and young people in need throughout the year. As he pointed out: families in Békéscsaba who are in a difficult situation can apply for a non-perishable food package at any time of the year.

Part of our support program is also the fact that the municipality occasionally provides five bushels of firewood to the socially needy during the heating season. We cooperate with the government office in the assessment of lignite needs and in serving them, said the mayor. He added: as a result of the dramatic energy price increases, a decision was made at the September general meeting to increase the amount of housing maintenance support and the eligibility income limit, so that more needy people in the Békés county seat can be supported.

In Balassagyarmat, the council of representatives unanimously adopted the amendment to the city's social ordinance, in which the emergency utility fee subsidy form was introduced from October 2.

Residents of Balassagyarmat in need can apply for financial support for one type of heating for one heating season (from October to October) in the event of an increase in utility costs. They can receive a maximum of HUF 30,000 for the cost of solid fuel once, and a maximum of HUF 6,000 per month in 12-month installments - that is, up to HUF 72,000 in one year.

At the time of application, you can apply for differentiated support according to the household's net income per person and the size of the apartment per person. Housing maintenance support and extraordinary forms of assistance can be requested independently of these applications.

The daily wrote earlier that a new element is being added to the Baranya help program, the Baranya County Municipality is the first in the country to establish a municipal energy point with the aim of providing support to municipalities and cities in making optimal decisions by involving experts with energy recommendations and sharing good practices that help saving. in the implementation of more economical energy use.

The representative body of Kiskunlacház, with a government majority, also decided that the municipality will provide financial assistance to local families and individuals who are in an extremely difficult situation due to the drastic increase in energy prices.

Source: Hungarian Nation

Featured image: Sopron theme